AT&T Fails The SXSW iPhone Test

South by Southwest is one of the biggest annual geek shows, so naturally there are thousands (tens of thousands?) of iPhones roaming around downtown Austin. Good luck making calls or receiving text messages, especially anywhere near the convention center.

As this Twitter search feed illustrates, many people are frustrated with the lousy mobile service AT&T (T) is providing. (Our $100/month iPhone has "no service" in the press room, for instance.)

Of course, this is probably more iPhones per square foot than AT&T has to deal with in Austin any time during the year. But mobile companies love to brag about the temporary networks they set up for big events like the Super Bowl. So next year, AT&T, how about a better plan?